Plans change and brain cancer happened, and I remember like it was yesterday when the nurse practitioner told me that with Ian’s diagnosis, he would not be able to join the military. It was shortly after surgery, and up until that point I had hardly cried. I think I was walking around in the cloud of shock a parent walks in during the 1st days of something as big as surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor. When she told me that Ian would never get the chance to pursue his dream, never get the chance to be the only thing he ever wanted to be, I broke down.

Never Quit and Never Ever Give Up, or as Ian often says to himself, ”suck it up”.

It’s a great message, one that I get, one that Ian gets, but when life keeps handing you setback after setback, and the hard lasts longer than anyone expected, it feels impossible to not grow weary.

Never Ever Give Up. Never Quit.

2 years has been hard, but I’m pretty sure after hearing Marcus Luttrell tell his incredible, miraculous story, in person, in his own words, and getting to meet Marcus himself, has given Ian more than enough inspiration to keep fighting another year, or 2 years, or however long it takes. To Just. Keep. Fighting.

For Ian, for a boy who only ever wanted to be an elite soldier, hearing a story like that from a man like Marcus, meant so much more than any other “press on” story out there. Meeting him, getting to spend time sitting down with Marcus, Marcus asking Ian about himself, about why he always wanted to be a soldier, meant more than anyone in that room could ever know.

It still seems a bit surreal.

The email that mentioned the Patriot Tour, the plea that went viral, the tweeting, the retweeting, the email from Team Never Quit.

The meeting Marcus! (And his lovely wife, Melanie, as well as the rest of Team Never Quit. Amazing people, every single one of them!)

It all seems so surreal, and yet it was all so real. It happened, and I have un-doctored photographic evidence.

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I came across Ian’s story on The Blaze. I’m in tears, really. There still are good people in this world, though few and far in between they might be. I’m so glad that Ian got to meet a real hero. God bless your family. Keep fighting the good fight. ♥

Hi Ali,
The fight Ian has at hand takes just as much strength, determination and discipline as a soldier needs to survive combat. Ian is a fighter, a winner and a real hero as he battles this cancer and the chemo effects.

I can do Ian one better – pick up your phone and call the gerson institute to learn how they can help CURE your son. If conventional medicine is now “treating” your son, think out of the box and call, because you’ll never appreciate why until you do. Not for your sake, mom, but for the sake of the boy!